Module SXL-2112:Tort

Module Facts

Run by School of Law

20 Credits or 10 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser:
Mrs Victoria Ring

Overall aims and purpose

Tort is a compulsory module in the LLB programme. The aim of this module is to enable students to state and apply the rules of the English law of torts dealt with in the course accurately and relevantly, and to make assessments of that law and the scholarship pertaining thereto. This module will enable students to learn to establish when a right exists that the law of torts protects, and then if that right is infringed, without lawful reason, whether there are any remedies available. It will enable students to compare and contrast that law accurately and relevantly with the equivalent areas of any other legal system with which the student is familiar, and to relate that law to the particular circumstances - political, social, cultural - in which it developed.

Course content

The module will allow the student to study the modern English law of torts, in particular the law relating to: negligence, nuisance, liability for psychiatric injury, occupiers' liability, product liability, trespass to the person and other major torts to allow the students to apply the general principles and defences.

Assessment Criteria

threshold

Knowledge of key areas/principles only

Weaknesses in understanding of main areas

Limited evidence of background study

Answer only poorly focussed on question and with some irrelevant material and poor structure

Arguments presented but lack coherence

Several factual/computational errors

No original interpretation

Only major links between topics are described

Limited problem solving

Many weaknesses in presentation and accuracy

excellent

Comprehensive knowledge

Detailed understanding

Extensive background study

Highly focussed answer and well structured

Logically presented and defended arguments

No factual/computational errors

Original interpretation

New links between topics are developed

New approach to a problem

Excellent presentation with very accurate communication

good

Strong knowledge

Understands most but not all

Evidence of background study

Focussed answer with good structure

Arguments presented coherently

Mostly free from factual/computational errors

Some limited original interpretation

Well known links between topics are described

Problems addressed by existing methods/approaches

Good presentation with accurate communication

C- to C+

Knowledge of key areas/principles

Understands main areas

Limited evidence of background study

Answer focussed on question but also with some irrelevant material and weaknesses in structure

Arguments presented but lack coherence

Has several factual/computational errors

No original interpretation

Only major links between topics are described

Limited problem solving

Some weaknesses in presentation and accuracy

Learning outcomes

Describe the main areas of social activity which are regulated by the law of tort and state the general principles of tort liability.

Explain the essential elements of the tort of negligence, namely the notion of the duty of care, the standard of care and the concepts of causation (both factual and legal) and remoteness.

Give an account of the general defences in tort and also of the rules relating to the assessment of damages, comparing the other sources of compensation which may be available.

Identify and explain the legal issues arising from a given set of facts.

Carry out effective research on legal issues using both primary and secondary sources.

Expound the legal principles and rules which are relevant, citing appropriate authority for propositions of law.

Assessment Methods

Type

Name

Description

Weight

Written assignment

1

Final examination

2

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours

Lecture

The module will be taught by means of 33 hours of lectures and 11 hours of workshops, both taught over the course of one semester.

33

Private study

156

Workshop

The module will be taught by means of 33 hours of lectures and 11 hours of workshops, both taught over the course of one semester. Workshops will routinely require students to engage individually and in groups in acquiring, commenting upon, critically evaluating and applying the principles and details of the subject under the guidance and instruction of the tutor.

11

Transferable skills

Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media

Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software

Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance

Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives

Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information

Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others

Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.

Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.

Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)

Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting

Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

Develop the ability to interpret legal rules and employ techniques of legal reasoning competently and efficiently in order to offer a range of solutions and conclusions to actual or hypothetical complex legal problems, all supported by relevant academic literature, jurisprudence and legislative research. Such solutions will be clearly communicated and presented

Develop the ability to analyse complex legal issues, set against the background of the political, social, economic or cultural contexts in which they may arise

Develop those skills which are necessary for scholarship and research in legal subjects, namely the ability to identify relevant primary and secondary legal sources and to retrieve accurate legal information using paper and electronic sources